Nearly 40% of tobacco growers in Japan to cease cultivation

(Mainichi Daily News) Nearly 40 percent of leaf tobacco growers in Japan intend to discontinue cultivation in or after 2012, responding to a recent call from Japan Tobacco Inc. for volunteers to cease cultivation amid declining tobacco sales, according to a survey released Friday by a growers' group.
The Japan Tobacco Growers Association surveyed 10,650 tobacco growers farming 13,930 hectares through its 21 member associations across Japan, finding that 4,106, or 38.6 percent, plan to stop cultivation, it said.
The 4,106 growers combined currently cultivate 4,412 hectares, equivalent to more than 30 percent of the total area under cultivation. Continued